Olympics: Shaun White Comes Up Short

It took an I-Pod to take down the Flying Tomato. Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov upset Shaun White in the men's halfpipe in Sochi Tuesday, denying the two-time defending champ the chance to be the first American man to three-peat ...

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By TV Guide

Holland Sentinel

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 11, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 11, 2014 at 11:30 PM

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 11, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 11, 2014 at 11:30 PM

It took an I-Pod to take down the Flying Tomato. Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov upset Shaun White in the men's halfpipe in Sochi Tuesday, denying the two-time defending champ the chance to be the first American man to three-peat at a Winter Olympics. Olympics: What to watch on Day 5 - USA vs. Canada in women's hockey; Davis attempts three-peat White, who pulled out of slopestyle to focus on the historic three-peat, didn't even make the podium, finishing fourth behind Japan's Ayumu Hirano and Taku Hiraoka as well. It's the first time no American man has medaled in the halfpipe since snowboarding was added to the Games in 1998. (The U.S. swept the podium in 2002.) Most riders fell in the pipe Tuesday, which they have criticized for being subpar. White uncharacteristically slipped twice, once hitting the deck, in his first run. Podladtchikov, a good friend of White's, fell in his first run too, but stomped his second with his signature trick, the cab double cork 1440, which he's dubbed the YOLO flip, earning a 94.75. White attempted the YOLO flip in his second run, but didn't land it cleanly and had another slip-up at the end - only good enough for a 90.25 behind Hiraoka (92.25) and Hirano (93.50). Olympic hotties: Who's sizzling beneath the parka? While the American men failed to podium in the pipe, the U.S. made an individual luge podium for the first time with Erin Hamlin's bronze, ending a 50-year drought. Germany's Natalie Geisenberger won with a time of 3:19.768 and posted the second-largest margin of victory over teammate and reigning champion Tatjana Huefner, who was 1.139 seconds behind in second. In the first-ever women's ski jumping competition, Germany's Carina Vogt, who had never won a World Cup event, took the gold. Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was second and France's Coline Mattel earned bronze. Heavy favorite Sara Takanashi of Japan finished fourth and American world champion Sarah Hendrickson, hampered by her surgically repaired right knee, was 21st. Canadian Dara Howell won the inaugural ski slopestyle contest, with compatriot Kim Lamarre in third. American Devin Logan was second, giving he U.S. its first silver in Sochi. Olympic stars to watch In speed skating, South Korea's Lee Sang-hwa defended her 500-meter title in an Olympic record time of 37.28. Her combined two-run time of 1:14.70 is also a new Olympic record. Russia's Olga Fatkulina grabbed silver and Margot Boer of the Netherlands was third. Norway swept the men's and women's cross-country sprint with Ola Vigen Hattestad and Maiken Caspersen Falla each winning gold. Teammate Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg was second in the women's event, followed by Slovenian Vesna Fabjan. Swedes Teodor Peterson and Emil Jonsson rounded out the men's podium. Belarusian Darya Damrachova took gold in the women's 10-kilometer pursuit, with Norway's Tora Berger second and Slovenia's Teja Gregorin third.
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